Apparatus for supplying air to occupants of aircraft



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L. M. ARMSTRQNG APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYI-NG AIR TO OCGUPNTSy OF AIRCRAFToriginal Filed July 9, 1919 PatentedA l 14,11 924.l

uNiTED STATES vPATENT orifice.'-

-Lavmmn la ARMSTRONG, oF Piioitin,4 ILLINOIS, AssIGNon To .1. n.arizona, om cHIcAeo, izLLINois.

APPARATUS FOB, SUPPLYING AIR T OCCUPANTS 0F AIRCRAFT.

Application nled July 9, 1919, Serial No. 309,772. Benewed March 14,1984.

To all 'whom t ymag/ concern:

Be it known that I, LAvANnA M. ARM- STRONG, citizen of the UnitedStates, residin at Peoria, in the county of Peoria i and new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Supplying Air to Occu ants of Aircraft;and I do hereby declare t at the following is a full, clear, `and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart, to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to means for sup- 4plyingair under pressure in acompartment serving as living quarters for 'persons when in highaltitudes, and particularly for navigators and passengers of air craftor air vesse s of every kind'andcharacter.

The main object of the invention is to provide for-furnishing a supplyof air to persons carried in air ships and air vessels of eyery kind,such air being placed under greater pressure-than that of thesurrounding air in high altitudes, and maintained in a com artmentl at adesired pressure automatica ly or partially so.

Besides the Yabove objects, other objects and advantages are attainableall of which will appear herein aided by the accompan ing drawing, itbeing understood that t' e invention is not\conf`ined to what is 'shownand described, as yto the mechanism, since I have outlined but onemanner of providing for the desired results. y

Figure 1 shows'-` one of the types of air craft to which my, inventionis applicable, part only of the invention being visible.

-Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of a compartment of an air craftshowing my invention. y

Figure 3 is an elevation of a conventional form of barometer andconnections extending therefrom as parts used with my invention.

Figure 4 is a plan of a valve and parts of an operating 'mechanismtherefor.

Figure 5 is ane'levation of the same, and

Figure 6 shows in perspective a suit for a navi ator or' other person,made air tight and a apted to be supplied with air under pressure. 1

The physical discomforts of rsons in high or extremely high altitudes ueto lack tate ofIllinois, have invented certain,

of airy pressure is ywell known. Because of' this it is my purpose toprovide an air tight compartment for all persons whether stationed onmountain `tops or carried in air navigated by air-craft, air beingprovided,

therein such as to furnish comfort almost,if n ot quite equal, to thatat or near sea level.

Also, that where' butone or two ersonsV are navigating the air at highaltitu es the may be provi-ded each with a stout suit su l ficientlylarge to permit air under pressure -to surround the head .and body, theair being supplied from any desired source,.al.l of

which will appear herein.

I believe it is entirely new to provide air' for sustaining life YinveryI high altitudes where the air is rare, compressing the air in acompartment by automatic means or by mechanism that may be controlledmanually.

My invention is ap licable to an formof air craft whether o ,theso-called ighterthan-air. or heavier-than-air type. v,

For purposes of illustration thenumeral'l is indicative of-an aircraft'of the lighterthan-air dirifrible type', 2 denoting a car orgondola carried thereby, which for the purposes of my invention is soconstructed as to -be made air tight hen desired.A That is to say, thewindows 3ft ereof are of a form that will constitute air tight closures,the struc.- ture of the walls of the ear, which is what I shall term thecompartment, being such as to withstand internal airpressure.

4 is `a valve of the safety or pop ty located at any convenient, pointinone of t e walls' arranged toopen outwardly for escape of excesspressure, the said valve beinggoverned by a spring4 for example. l

In the forward wall ,hf the compartment pointing in the directionoftravel is a fun-` nel shaped member 42, ,the walls yof which fiare tothe pro er degree and said member may be of a` esired depth ,forgathering l and compressing v-air within the compartment with which saidmember communicates.

Said member may be attached to the wall; 160 braces 5, for example, thetubularportion.. I

in any convenient manner asby means of 6 extending through the wall ofthe coinpartment and having a .valve-seat 6 terminating its end. Butsaid member may .be

otherwise disposed with reference the-' wall carryingl it.

7 yis a idly mounted valve adapted tof ,closeu n t e valve-seat v6.

8 is y indicative of an air compressor sit uatedv 1n yany convenientplace 'connected through a conduit 9 with the outer air prelerablyy byway. of the tubular portion 6 ofsaidmember 42, while 9is a powerdelivering .apparatus whichfor convenience may be an electric motor, forinstance, belted or otherwise connected l rthe sai'd air compressor.'A

arometer of the ordinary and 11 yrepresents any shows la mercurialJ-form f ysource 'of'power, preferably one for producing electricalenergy, such las la storage r battery.

. times, it will arometer. 14 is afconduit connected at one end to theremaining pole of the motor and connected at its other end with theshort or open rend of lthelbarometer whereby, at have pontact with themercury as the same rises.

' f Saidwire or conduit Mis preferablyadinstable so that contact thereofwith' the mercury .may l ycu-it through the vation, depending motorA atj any 'l encountered as will appear later.

upon t :sel

- sist, as anexample,

as afbracket 20 kige the conduit is preferabl As an exampleofthe'man'ner l vtin adjustment, 15- dicat a' support for hol ing ebarometer and securedfin position thereonin any suitablemanner, or theconaircompressoi-,

yringl a wrist pin 25 which in rotating with t e in'` driving relationwithy in higher than be elective to close theciry 'desired ele` upon therarity of the air p l l' starting the compressorfB, the conduit 11g/ofof permit#l been previously ad' f the conduit which may be sli/dable isa bracket 21 its ends, a lever towhich 'is pivoted, between 22 one ofAwhose ends engages the free arm of the bell-crank, the other end beingfree to move in a single given plane.

Rotatably mounted Ona bracket 23 is a wheel 24 belted to 'the drivenwheel of the for example, said wheel car'- f same is moved against thelever 22 to swing iton its pivotf and therethrough close thevalve. This'action will lappear more fully in the. description` of the operation. Itis here to be pointed out that any other, means for operating theavalvemay be resorted to, the means an example ofA one manner of itsaccomplishes ment. v

In traveling at considerable speed the ,air

`is gathered bythe funnel and compressed in the compartment'raising thepressure therethe outer air, such pressure increasing in proportion tothe increase in the speed of travel, and, incidently, the air at the.,same time is kept in circulation throughoutK the com artment, thepressure ifnaintained'making or better physical comort. When, however,the altitude becomes such that the airpressure inthe compartment isinsuiiicent to yield the desired or require comfort the valve 7' isclosed and the air ressure in thel compartment is increased by thebarometer havin 'usted lto automatically hat is to say, it' may be whenreaching a. .previously height the electric` circuit will be closedAduit may be held by :riction in the support. caused by the mercuryrising in the open Again, the support may frictionally enend of the tubedue to. decreasin air presportion =on which' itis mounted sure.. Thecircuit havingl been c osed thus ugh the positive manner of holding thee. the compartment of an' the sea level is at norbe normal at greatV'Vhile the air in air craft -at or near mal pressure, it cannotelevations and therefore my urp'ose 1s to furnish an apparatusv that wiprovide air pressure'at any desiredepressure within said compartment andpreferablyin an automatic manner. l l

When in low altitudes, the valve 7 being open, the air is free to enterthe compartment.` But when reaching very altitudes said valve at theproper time is to'be closed reventing air, to be placed under pressure,

om escaping. a a s 4 The means for closing the valve ma conyof 'alever1f? rigi ly attachedto the hingeporti'on of the valve, /to which 'ispivoted, and a rod 18' connected to one arm of a bell-crank 19 pivotedupon a suitable `support such extending from the wall of thecompartment. Secured also to the wall operate the air from whichextends,

open automatically,

compressor and simultaneously therewith the wrist 4pin 25 is 'movagainst the lever 22 closing the valve TheA compressor iskept inoperation until -the pressure is sufficient to cause the breaking of thecircuit by driving the mercury columndownward away'from the conduit 14%Or, to constantly furnish resh'air tothe compartnent whenv a desiredpressure is rea the air-escapewalve 4 mayibe prlmtted to leak air abovethat pressure. e valve 7 e having been closedl 's held thus bythe inter-'nal'pressure 1 In this manner comfort isv established andmaintained forthe occupants.

Upon descending to lowerlevels said valve 7 ma be manually opened toadmit, air, but if the external pressure is greater l than the internalpressure the valve will automatically and action of the compressor willautomatically cease.

At any s eed of travel air will be compressed 1n t e compartment due tothe fux1.

described being merely 80.

the motor is set in motion to f chad,

1 Again,

' nel may not be used. The operation of the balance of the mechanismdoes not depend upon it in any way.

Leading from the compartment is',V avalved conduit .28 by means of whichair may be supplied to other compartments. air may be supplied "to asuit worn by any person whose duties require him to work outside thecompartment. In other words my invention in addition to the abovepurposes seeks to provide for any, such as navi ators of aeroplanes, thesame comfort as a orded by the closed compartment 1'.

lVher'e ysuch a compartment would bertoo bulky, or undesirable, itsequivalent may be furnished in a suit such as 26, Figure 6, including ahead piece into which air can be;l introduced through a conduit 27 fromany suitable source such as the conduit 28, if the person is carried bya lighter-than-air machine, or from a pressure` tank including .thereina compressor, motor and battery as well as a barometer which would beoutside lsaid tank, all acting orremaining idle according to the rarityor densityfof' the air encounutered, when carried by a heavier# than-airmachine. l f" The head-piece may have an escape valve of any well knownor ap roved typeiat 27 to provideK for escapero air above a certainpressure. .This provides for air pressure for the body and head aswellas to supply the lungs, it being required, of course, that the suit beof such constructmn as to withstand the internal pressure. [The saidtank(not shown)` furnishes the equiva.. lent of the compartment as will -beunderstood. .l

The power/means for operating the com-V.

pressor may be any otherva'rrangement. For

i even the example, any power delivery mechanism used in or about thecraft whatever its type, propelling motor, which may be operatively'connected wlth the compressor by any 4sultable means toaocomplishthe ob-I ject sought.

.1. In an air c raft,.thec0mbination with a'compa'rtment capable ofbeing made air tight, of means including a funnel through which tointroduce air to said. compartment n automatically in rareiiedatmospheres in the travel of the` craft. against the air, and

mechanism for automatically closing said funnel and introducing'air intosuch compartment under still greater pressure than afforded by4 saidfunnel.

2. In an air craft7 the combination with a compartment capable of beingmade air tight, of lmeans in which-to compress air and through which tosaid compartment,automatically in the to introduce the same travelgofthe craft against the air, a valve to close said means to the passage ofair, and mechanism vlncludlng an air compressor setun motlonautomatically to close said valve and for introducing air into thecompartment under still greater pressure.

3.' ln an air craft, the combination with. Y

a compartment capable of being made air tight, of means for` gatheringand introducing air into the latter and to compress it therein by itstravel against the air, a valve 'for closing said means, and mechanismto automatically close 'the valve including an alr compressor, powermeans to operate the same, yand a member effected by the rarityordensity. of air adapted to automatically cause the starting and stoppingof the compressor whereby to maintain air pressure in said compartmentat substantially a desired density.

4. In an air craft, the combination with a compartment capable of beingmade air tight, of means open to the outer air for gathering andintroducing air to the compar'tment under pressure, a valve'to 'closesaid means, an air compressor, mechanism to`close the valve including'.a motor, and. a member effected by the' density or rarity of air adaptedto set said eration or terminate such' operation.`

yln an air craft, the. combination with a compartment Vcapable-of beingmade airtight, ofan air gathering device open to .the outer aircommunicating with the interior of'said compartment,A a valve .to closeit, an air compressor-.including a conduit connected into said devicebetween the Valve and 'its open. end, a motor for operating thecompressor, and a member .effected by the variations inairpressureadapted to cause the motor to bestarted andY stoppedwhereby.the^compressor will maintain. air in the compartment atsubstantially av given den# in presence of twowitnesses.

- A LAVANDA M. ARMSTRONG.

Witnesses:

J. M. REYBURN, M. THURLOW.

mechanism in op-` `my signature g

